subject

American  

[suhb-jikt, suhb-jekt] / ˈsʌb dʒɪkt, səbˈdʒɛkt /

noun

• subjects
  plural

1. that which forms a basic matter of thought, discussion, investigation, etc..

   a subject of conversation.

2. a branch of knowledge as a course of study.

   He studied four subjects in his first year at college.

3. a motive, cause, or ground.

   a subject for complaint.

   Synonyms:

   rationale, reason

4. the theme of a sermon, book, story, etc.

5. the principal melodic motif or phrase in a musical composition, especially in a fugue.

6. an object, scene, incident, etc., chosen by an artist for representation, or as represented in art.

7. a person who is under the dominion or rule of a sovereign.

8. a person who owes allegiance to a government and lives under its protection.

   Swedish subjects are guaranteed access to equal education in childhood.

9. Grammar. (in many languages, such as English) one of the two main parts of a sentence, containing a noun or pronoun and all of its modifiers, which generally refers to the one performing an action, experiencing a condition, or being in a state expressed by a verb: for example, Our best employee in Our best employee gave notice, or He in He is still here.

10. a person or thing that undergoes or may undergo some action.

    As a dissenter, he found himself the subject of the group's animosity.

11. a person or thing under the control or influence of another.

12. a person as an object of medical, surgical, or psychological treatment or experiment.

13. a cadaver used for dissection.

14. Logic. that term of a proposition concerning which the predicate is affirmed or denied.

15. Philosophy.

    1. that which thinks, feels, perceives, intends, etc., as contrasted with the objects of thought, feeling, etc.

    2. the self or ego.

16. Metaphysics. that in which qualities or attributes inhere; substance.

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adjective

1. being under domination, control, or influence (often followed byto ).

   Synonyms:

   subservient, subordinate

2. being under dominion, rule, or authority, as of a sovereign, state, or some governing power; owing allegiance or obedience (often followed byto ).

3. open or exposed (usually followed byto ).

   subject to ridicule.

4. being dependent or conditional upon something (usually followed byto ).

   His consent is subject to your approval.

   Synonyms:

   contingent

5. being under the necessity of undergoing something (usually followed byto ).

   All beings are subject to death.

6. liable; prone (usually followed byto ).

   subject to headaches.

verb (used with object)

• subjects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• subjected,
  past participle,  past
• subjecting
  present participle

1. to bring under domination, control, or influence (usually followed byto ).

2. to bring under dominion, rule, or authority, as of a conqueror or a governing power (usually followed byto ).

3. to cause to undergo the action of something specified; expose (usually followed byto ).

   to subject metal to intense heat.

4. to make liable or vulnerable; lay open; expose (usually followed byto ).

   to subject oneself to ridicule.

5. Obsolete. to place beneath something; make subjacent.

subject British  

noun

1. 1. the predominant theme or topic, as of a book, discussion, etc

   2. ( in combination )

      subject-heading

2. any branch of learning considered as a course of study

3. grammar logic a word, phrase, or formal expression about which something is predicated or stated in a sentence; for example, the cat in the sentence The cat catches mice

4. a person or thing that undergoes experiment, analysis, treatment, etc

5. a person who lives under the rule of a monarch, government, etc

6. an object, figure, scene, etc, as selected by an artist or photographer for representation

7. philosophy

   1. that which thinks or feels as opposed to the object of thinking and feeling; the self or the mind

   2. a substance as opposed to its attributes

8. Also called: theme. music a melodic or thematic phrase used as the principal motif of a fugue, the basis from which the musical material is derived in a sonata-form movement, or the recurrent figure in a rondo

9. logic

   1. the term of a categorial statement of which something is predicated

   2. the reference or denotation of the subject term of a statement. The subject of John is tall is not the name John, but John himself

10. an originating motive

11. to select a new topic of conversation

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adjective

1. being under the power or sovereignty of a ruler, government, etc

   subject peoples

2. showing a tendency (towards)

   a child subject to indiscipline

3. exposed or vulnerable

   subject to ribaldry

4. conditional upon

   the results are subject to correction

adverb

1. (preposition) under the condition that

   we accept, subject to her agreement

verb

1. (foll by to) to cause to undergo the application (of)

   they subjected him to torture

2. to expose or render vulnerable or liable (to some experience)

   he was subjected to great danger

3. (foll by to) to bring under the control or authority (of)

   to subject a soldier to discipline

4. rare to subdue or subjugate

5. rare to present for consideration; submit

6. obsolete to place below

subject Cultural  

1. A part of every sentence. The subject tells what the sentence is about; it contains the main noun or noun phrase: “The car crashed into the railing”; “Judy and two of her friends were elected to the National Honor Society.” In some cases the subject is implied: you is the implied subject in “Get me some orange juice.” (Compare predicate.)

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subject Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing subject

• change the subject

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Synonym Usage

Subject, theme, topic are often interchangeable to express the material being considered in a speech or written composition. Subject is a broad word for whatever is treated in writing, speech, art, etc.: the subject for discussion. Theme and topic are usually narrower and apply to some limited or specific part of a general subject. A theme is often the underlying conception of a discourse or composition, perhaps not put into words but easily recognizable: The theme of a need for reform runs throughout her work. A topic is the statement of what is to be treated in a section of a composition: The topic is treated fully in this section.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsubject
  noun
• subjectability
  noun
• presubject
  verb (used with object)
• resubject
  verb (used with object)
• subject-like
  adjective
• subjectable
  adjective
• subjectless
  adjective
• subjectlike
  adjective
• unsubject
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• subjects
  plural

Participles

• subjecting
  present
• subjected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• subject
  simple
• subjects
  simple
• have subjected
  perfect
• has subjected
  perfect
• am subjecting
  progressive
• are subjecting
  progressive
• is subjecting
  progressive
• have been subjecting
  perfect progressive
• has been subjecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• subjected
  simple
• had subjected
  perfect
• was subjecting
  progressive
• were subjecting
  progressive
• had been subjecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will subject
  simple
• will have subjected
  perfect
• will be subjecting
  progressive
• will have been subjecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of subject

First recorded in 1275–1325; (adjective) from Latin subjectus “placed beneath, inferior, open to inspection,” originally the past participle of subicere “to throw or place beneath, make subject,” replacing Middle English suget, from Old French; (noun) from Late Latin subjectum “grammatical or dialectical subject,” replacing Middle English suget, as above; (verb) from Latin subjectāre, frequentative of subicere

Explanation

Subject can mean "topic," as in "Let's change the subject." It can also mean "to make someone do something," as in "Don't let your dad subject you to an hour-long lecture on fishing." It can also mean everyone in a country who is not the ruler, as in "The king greeted his subjects when he returned from abroad." A subject could be a broad branch of knowledge, like Biology, or a very narrow focus, like the effects of drought on avocados. If you are painting a portrait, the person posing for you is your subject. Subject can also mean beholden, or subordinate. If you are traveling in England, but not an English subject, or citizen, then you are still subject to English law.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subject subjects subjected subjecting

Some players, including Brooks Koepka, have since returned to the PGA Tour, which rewrote its rules in December to allow the five-time major winner to come back, subject to certain sanctions.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The subject of this study, HD 3167 b, is noticeably cooler than its expected maximum, providing strong evidence that it has an atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

And, wouldn’t you know it, Gradilla planned to bring up that very subject with his students this week — he didn’t even know about Hilton’s attacks against Becerra until I told him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

In August, ChatGPT became the first AI chatbot added to the EU's list of digital services subject to greater legal scrutiny under its online content rules.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

"Want to work on our entries for the art contest?" he asked, changing the subject.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

The show was frank in its portrayal of, among other subjects, social isolation, economic disparity, the immigrant experience and unconventional families.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The interview ranged across other subjects, most notably inflation and AI.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Government and social studies and Texas history were my favorite subjects.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

And frankly, the happy prime minister would likely be only too glad to talk for as long as necessary about those favourite subjects.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Picasso’s tricks are different: He wants to show his subjects from multiple angles all at once.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Barrot said French diplomatic missions were trying to put across the French case "so that we have our own narratives to disseminate, rather than being subjected to those of others."

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

The maneuver subjected the airframe to an estimated 3 Gs of force, akin to what a spacecraft experiences during launch, and exceeded the 737 MAX’s operating limit of 2.5 Gs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Pyrobitumen is an insoluble form of organic carbon that develops when buried crude oil or kerogen -- a source material for natural gas -- is subjected to intense heating deep below the surface.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

"Whatever miscommunication, whatever poor information, they should not have been subjected to this ongoing trauma and distress, and I can only apologise genuinely for that."

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

You will be subjected in the place of your teaching to an oral examination of general knowledge.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

It was an eye-catching conjecture: one of the most revered of the Founding Fathers subjecting people held against their will to possibly painful shocks.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Under the new regime, visa holders who need more time will have to file formal applications with the federal government, subjecting themselves to additional background checks, biometric vetting, and other bureaucratic hurdles.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

In her IMDb autobiography, she recalled early memories of subjecting relatives to renditions of “When I Grow Too Old to Dream,” from the 1935 film “The Night Is Young.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

A judge earlier this month rejected Kalshi’s bid to block New York from subjecting it to its gambling laws.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

“Now if there were a cure,” Tam says, still pretty much shouting, “d’ye honestly think I’d be subjecting ye to all this here rubbish a-floating outta my brain?”

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

Related Words

• affair
• business
• case
• course
• discussion
• idea
• item
• material
• object
• point
• problem
• proposal
• question
• study
• subject matter
• substance
• theme
• thought
• topic